Belleville school adding on 13,550 square feet. Here’s what to know
Work is underway on a 13,550-square-foot addition to Belleville’s Whiteside Elementary School.
The addition, which will consist of eight classrooms including a multi-purpose space, will house the district’s early childhood and pre-K students. As such, the aging mobile classroom trailer units currently housing those programs can be demolished.
The project is projected to be completed by the start of the 2026-27 school year, Whiteside Superintendent Mark Heuring said.
“When completed, this addition will move our youngest students into our main elementary building providing a safe, modern and nurturing environment where they can grow, learn and thrive,” Heuring said at a groundbreaking ceremony last week.
In spring 2024, voters passed a referendum that allowed the district to issue about $10.6 million in bonds to build the addition, add solar power to the new addition and demolish the mobile classrooms.
Heuring said the referendum also includes funding to replace the current playground and to add a separate playground space for early childhood and pre-K students.
With the mobile classrooms being an estimated 20-30 years old, the district was constantly doing repairs, Heuring said. The mobile units also don’t allow for the same safety and security as the school building, especially in extreme weather.
“(This groundbreaking) is a result of a true community effort,” Heuring said at the ceremony. “I want to thank our board of education, our faculty and staff and, most of all, our local community for standing behind this project and showing their support at the polls. Because of you, we were able to take the next step forward.”
FGM Architects is the project’s designer and S.M. Wilson & Co. is its construction manager.
